What is the thanksgiving wheel?
The thanksgiving wheel is a free online spinner loaded with 10 starter entries, such as Thankful toast, Pie trivia, Turkey trot stretch, Charades. You can change every slice, add your own items, set odds and keep a record of each result. People also search for it as “thanksgiving spinner”, “thanksgiving games wheel”, “friendsgiving wheel”.
Because every slice is on screen and the spin plays out in front of everyone, the result feels fair. That matters when people care about the outcome.
How to use the thanksgiving wheel
Make the list yours
Type over the examples, add new lines, or remove what you don't need. Your changes save automatically.
Choose your settings
Set the spin duration and palette, and decide whether winners are removed, counted or drawn several at a time.
Spin the wheel
Hit the big blue button. The wheel ticks, slows and stops, and the result pops up with a receipt code.
Ways to use the thanksgiving wheel
Family dinners
Games between courses.
Friendsgiving
Party challenges for adults.
Classrooms
November activities and writing.
Kids' table
Simple, silly tasks.
Tips for the thanksgiving wheel
- Keep challenges short so food stays warm.
- Mix gratitude slices with games.
- Let the youngest guest press Spin first.
Ways to use a Thanksgiving wheel
A Thanksgiving wheel can handle three jobs: deciding who brings which dish, picking games and activities for the afternoon, and assigning clean-up tasks after the meal. Build a separate wheel for each job, or use the default mix of dishes and activities and edit it to suit your family.
Planning a potluck dinner
List every dish you need: turkey or a main, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, a salad, pumpkin pie and a second dessert. Spin a name wheel for each dish, removing guests as they're assigned until everyone has one, then start again for any dishes left over. Share the list in the family chat so nobody brings a third bowl of mashed potatoes. If someone doesn't cook, give them drinks, ice, napkins or the playlist.
Games for after the meal
Spin for the next activity: a backyard football game, a walk, a board game tournament, charades, a puzzle, a family trivia quiz or the parade and game on TV. Add a "nap break" slice for the post-turkey slump. For trivia, spin a category such as family history, the year in review, food or sport, and ask a question from that category.
Fair clean-up duty
Load the jobs: clear the table, wash dishes, dry and put away, wrap leftovers, wipe counters, take out the trash, sweep the floor. Spin names into each job. A common family rule is that whoever cooked the main dish is exempt, so leave the chef off the wheel. Kids can get lighter jobs on a separate wheel.
Friendsgiving
For a Friendsgiving, the wheel helps decide who hosts next year, the order of dishes in a buffet, and conversation topics if the group doesn't all know each other. Spin a theme for the meal, such as classic, international, vegetarian or comfort food, to make the menu more interesting.
Classroom Thanksgiving activities
Teachers can spin for gratitude writing prompts, harvest-themed maths problems or a quick history discussion topic. Approach the history thoughtfully: include Indigenous perspectives and focus on gratitude, community and sharing food.
Example
A family of twelve spins dish assignments two weeks before the holiday, spins games after dinner and spins clean-up teams. The teenager who drew "wash dishes" negotiates a trade, but the wheel's decision means there's no argument about fairness.
A timeline for the day
Two weeks before: spin dish assignments and share the list. The week before: confirm numbers, dietary needs and who's bringing chairs. On the day: spin a pre-dinner activity while the turkey rests, such as a walk or a quick game, so the cooks get some space. After dinner: spin games, then clean-up teams. Late evening: spin a film or a final round of pie. Having the wheel decide each step keeps the day moving without one person having to organise everyone.
Dietary needs
Ask guests about allergies, vegetarian or vegan diets and gluten-free needs before you spin dish assignments. Add a slice such as "a vegetarian main" or "a gluten-free dessert" so those dishes are covered too.
Adjusting the default wheel
Delete any dishes your family never makes and add your own traditions, such as Grandma's mac and cheese or tamales.
Then spin to see who says grace or gives the toast.
Thanksgiving wheel features
Made for holidays
Templates, images and colours make it fit your activity.
Odds you control
Change any entry's weight and its slice resizes to match its chance.
No-repeat and multi-winner
Remove winners automatically, or draw a whole set in one round.
Images, colours, sound
Pictures on slices, custom colours, tick and fanfare sounds.
Share, fullscreen, OBS
Send a link, project it, or put it on stream as an overlay.
History and receipts
Every spin is logged with a time and code. Export it to CSV.
Odds on the thanksgiving wheel
With equal weights each of the 10 entries has a 10.0% chance on every spin. Change a weight and that entry's chance becomes its weight divided by the total. Elimination removes winners and recalculates the odds for the rest. Test any setup on the randomness audit.
Thanksgiving wheel FAQs
Is it good for kids?
Yes. Use simple slices like drawing a turkey or naming a favourite food.
Can adults play?
Add trivia, charades and story slices for a grown-up table.
Can I use it at Friendsgiving?
Absolutely. Swap in your group's own games.
Is the thanksgiving wheel free?
Yes. The thanksgiving wheel on WheelSpinner is free, with no sign-up or entry limit.
Is the thanksgiving wheel truly random?
Each spin uses your browser's cryptographic random number generator, so with equal weights every visible entry has the same chance.
Can I save and share my thanksgiving wheel?
Entries save automatically in this browser, and Share copies a link with your list included.